Loyalty
by ravens rising
Summary: Sado wakes up in the aftermath of a battle. Sado/Ichigo and vaguely implied Shunsui/Ukitake.


Title: Always  
Characters: Sado, Shunsui, Ukitake, Ichigo  
Pairings: Sado/Ichigo, vaguely implied Shunsui/Ukitake by parallel  
Rating: PG-13 / T  
Word Count: 2,024  
Summary: Sado wakes up in the aftermath of the battle.  
A/N: (This was written for **senkaimon**'s first round, prompt: Sado/Ichigo.) I was trying to do something that wasn't just contemplative like most everybody else, and... this came out. XD

* * *

The first sense to return was smell, the acrid scent of ashes and dust mixed with a hint of blood and decay filling his nose.

The next sense to return was sight as his eyes slowly flickered open, fighting against dried sweat... or perhaps dried blood. Light blue and white swirled dizzyingly above him until his eyes regained focus and were able to show him an innocuous blue sky with light, fluffy clouds scattered about. The peaceful feeling this was supposed to invoke contrasted with his pain.

He took in a deep breath, and was relieved that he was able to. That was a good sign that there were no broken ribs, at least. He concentrated on the rest of his body. There was no place that pained him in particular; he just felt a dull ache all over. If he focused, he found he was able to curl his fingers into a fist. After several minutes of struggle, he was able to pull his arm back and press against the dirt for leverage to sit up.

Sado Yasutora gazed around at his surroundings. All he could see was ruins, buildings destroyed during the battle. Gray clouds hovered over random areas- evidence, he feared, of fires.

He was never quite sure when his sense of hearing returned, as all was eerily silent. If he listened closely, he could pick out the lonely whistle of the wind through the fallen buildings, but that was it. There were no voices, and not even the chirping of birds.

He spent several moments taking in slow breaths and recovering his balance. Then he reached over with his other arm and grabbed a handhold on the closest piece of rubble, using it to drag himself into a standing position. As he waited another moment of recuperation, he took another look around. There was still no movement nearby.

His eyes were drawn west, towards where he knew Ichigo had been, and he felt fear tighten in his stomach. The conspicuous silence and the scent of battle in the air were ominous and he was propelled forwards despite his injuries.

He slowly limped down what had once been a busy street. _Ichigo._ He had to get to Ichigo. The sun beat down relentlessly on his skin, and as he reached up to wipe the sweat off his forehead, a flutter of pink in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He stopped, turning his head to investigate. What he saw caused his eyes to widen, and he was torn by indecision. He felt a burning need to find Ichigo as soon as he could, but he knew he should help. In the end, he chose what Ichigo would have wanted him to choose.

He walked over and appraised the scene before him. Kyouraku Shunsui lay unmoving in the midst of a large pile of rubble, obviously the remnants of a large building, most likely some kind of warehouse. Sado clambered over the debris toward him. He knelt down by the other man's side, noticing with relief the slow rise and fall of his chest. He reached over and gently removed pieces of wood and stone that had fallen across him, and he wondered how long the older man had lain here. How long had he himself been unconscious, dead to the world? Again, he felt that rush of fear.

Probably because the movement of the fragments had disturbed him, Kyouraku shifted, opening his eyes partially. "Sir?" Sado inquired quietly, and Kyouraku's eyes opened fully and tried to focus on his face. "It's Sado." He said, his voice hoarse due to his extremely dry and dusty throat.

"Sado-kun." Kyouraku said, his voice raspy as well, and a pale imitation of his usual smile crossed his face. He began to struggle to get up. Sado opened his mouth to protest in concern, but he quickly closed his mouth. There was no way Kyouraku would stay put any more than he himself could've continued to stare at the sky. He had his own person he needed to find. So instead, he just helped the other man up, offering himself as a brace. Kyouraku clutched one arm and leaned heavily against the arm Sado placed around his shoulders. Sado heard the strain in his breathing and felt the slight tremble in his hand that gripped his arm. It bothered Sado, to see the man like this. They had become friends of a sort during the war, and Sado respected him. But at least he was still alive.

"Thank you." Kyouraku said quietly, his eyes shadowed, and Sado knew he hated his weakness as well. Sado just nodded in acknowledgement.

"Are you injured, sir?" he asked quietly. Kyouraku huffed a laugh and pressed his fingers reassuringly against his arm.

"I'm fine. I've been worse." His eyes darkened as he took his own look around, "It's not important." Sado didn't agree, but looking around at the desolation, he understood Kyouraku's point. How many of their comrades were still alive? _Ichigo..._

"Ichigo was over there when I was forced to leave." Sado said, tilting his head west.

Kyouraku nodded, "Jyuushirou was near him when I..." His face tightened. "I'm coming with you." There was no question of where Sado was headed, just automatically assumed and accepted. They had both been separated from the ones they wanted to protect the most, and Sado could not deny him. So he just nodded.

With Sado still supporting the Captain, they made it together back down the pile, Sado studiously pretending to ignore Kyouraku's raspy breathing and winces of pain.

The two shuffled down the deserted street.

They saw no one else.

-  
_  
Angry shouting was the first thing Sado heard when he arrived at the house, the sky darkening above him. With a sigh, he entered. Tempers had been frayed recently, tensions high. The war had gone on for too long. There would be a breaking point soon, and they all knew it. This was certainly not the first fight Sado had overheard, though he preferred not to get involved._

_With another sigh, he studied the relaxation area. Obviously the fight had begun here, or at least been here at one point, he concluded, eying the shattered glass. The information he brought was not of vital importance; he could wait. He went to get a broom._

_After cleaning up the mess, he ventured up onto the roof. He could still hear their shouts. It took almost an hour for them to quiet down, and by then the sun has long ago left the sky._

_It took only ten minutes for there to be movement below, and soon Ichigo joined him on the roof, as Sado had known he would. His whole body was painfully tense, and his scowl was worse than usual. He sat down heavily next to Sado. They sat in silence together, the minutes of unburdened companionship slowly relaxing Ichigo's muscles._

_There was no need for thanks between them._

_"I may die." Ichigo said, not looking at him. He was not one to doubt himself, but the argument had left him bitter and drained._

_"I believe in you. You are strong." Sado said simply. "You are the strongest person I know."_

_Ichigo turned to look at him, and Sado met his eyes, trying to show his friend the confidence he held. Something that may have been a smile danced across Ichigo's lips, and he leaned over and kissed him. Sado closed his eyes and pulled Ichigo closer, reveling in Ichigo's warmth and strength._

_Nothing needed to be said._

-

They stared out over the crater in horrified awe. It extended impressively for, quite possibly, a full mile. It wasn't a smooth crater; it was pocked with indentations from who knows what. The battle that had likely taken place here boggled the mind. There could be no doubt that this was ground zero, the place where Aizen Sousuke and Kurosaki Ichigo had fought to the death.

But who had succeeded?

That fear that had coiled in his stomach spread throughout his body, choking his throat and sending chills down his arms, now that he actually could see the scene where his lover may have laid down his life. He had told Ichigo that he believed in him, and he did. But he was only human, in the end, and he feared. He stepped forward, intent on descending into the canyon despite what he might find. If Aizen was there, it did not matter. If Ichigo was dead, his life held no purpose anyway.

A pale arm came out of nowhere, extending in front of him, halting his progress. He had sensed nothing, and he jumped back automatically in shock, gathering what remained of his strength. Was he so tired and hurt he had lost his reiatsu sensitivity? Kyouraku's strangled gasp told him he had sensed nothing either.

Luckily, it was no enemy. It was an extremely wan Ukitake Jyuushirou, looking more brittle than Sado had ever seen him before, even during the attacks of his illness. And yet… he had sensed nothing.

"It is alright." The white haired man said softly, "Ichigo Kurosaki is alive. Aizen is dead."

There was no way Sado would ever be able to describe in words the sweet, burning relief that filled him, leaving him lightheaded and dizzy. _Ichigo!_

"But he is... severely injured." Ukitake interrupted quietly. "Aizen... used the Hougyoku... in... unexpected ways. Aizen is- was- a clever man, and a depraved one. I tried to protect him the best I could, but... in the end, he paid a drastic price. He is strong, and he will live, but... he may no longer be the same Ichigo we knew."

Sado could feel Ukitake's reiatsu now, and it had... changed. It was somehow sharper, jagged, darker and more dangerous. Sado looked again at Ukitake's strange pallor and saw Kyouraku's look of shock out of the corner of his eye, and he thought that maybe Ichigo was not the only one that had paid a drastic price during this battle.

"It doesn't matter." Sado said quietly, a genuine, pure smile pulling at his lips, "I will always be his, no matter what." Ukitake looked at him for a long moment, then smiled himself and tilted his head, almost deep enough to be a bow, in a way that indicated respect.

This was all noted in the back of his mind as he moved forward again, this time without impediment. Then he was running, scrambling down the side of the crater. His sprint across the crater was a blur to him, his breath hot in his throat and his heart beating loudly in his ears; everything in his body focused on getting to his lover.

Ichigo. _Ichigo. __**Ichigo.**_

And then he was there, stumbling, falling down by Ichigo's side. He did not notice the smoldering, bloody remains of the God of Hueco Mundo lying not too far away. "Ichigo." Sado murmured. He reached out with a trembling hand and placed soft fingers against his still face. Ichigo's orange hair was longer than his normal length, and at least a fourth of his body was covered with the white armor of Hollows. Something broken that extended out of the top of his head may have been a horn. But Sado Yasutora had spoken the truth to Ukitake Jyuushirou on the edge of the crater, and he truly did not care. He was not repulsed. All he saw was the steady movement of his lover's chest, and that was all that mattered in the end.

Ichigo's eyes fluttered open. "Ichigo." Sado said, quietly, brokenly. Ichigo stared into his eyes, and Sado drowned. He saw in them Ichigo's stubbornness, his kindness, his strength, and everything that made up this beautiful, wonderful man that Sado loved above all else. It was going to be alright.

Ichigo smiled, cracking his dry lips. His right arm lifted slowly, and Sado met it with his other hand, lacing their fingers together. "Ichigo. I came as fast as I could. I'm here."

Ichigo's eyes fluttered closed, but he tightened the handhold. "Always." He said, his voice almost a whisper, but it held more simple conviction than a dozen shouts.

* * *

There's definitely going to be a ShunUki companion fic at some point because I tried to just focus on Chad and Ichigo in this one. XD E-cookies to whoever figures out what I did to Jyuu. XD Was it obvious?


End file.
